Monthly Archives: November 2013

“Find New Roads” is the latest slogan from Chevrolet, as part of their marketing campaign for 2013. And that’s exactly what a handful of 2014 C7 Corvette Stingrays did on Saturday, November 2.

Since the end of August, those in attendance at cars&coffee/Irvine have been treated to random, up close viewings of the brand new C7 Corvette, and on the morning of November 2, all present were treated to the largest gathering of 2014 Corvette Stingrays to date, and in previously unseen colors.

First up was this 2014 C7 coupe in Blade Silver, as seen below.

A shock of color; the black interior accented by a pair of red seats, center console panels and door trim…

Next in line was this beautiful black on black, 2014 Corvette coupe.

For 2014 the real thing; a front hood with louvers that are fully functional.

Polarized light captured and refracted within the top of the headlight lens (below).

The last of the trio of brand news Corvettes was this eye-popping, Velocity Yellow Stingray coupe.

The new Stingray badge, found on the front fenders, positioned just behind each diagonal vent (see above and below).

Ironically, parked a short distance away from this trio, was another 2014 Corvette Stingray. This particular C7 was wrapped in Torch red, and equipped with the Z-51 performance package. Included in this package are 19″ front and 20″ rear, 5 – split spoke wheels, which on this car had been finished in black (one of only three finishes available from Chevrolet), all wrapped in Michelin Pilot Super Sport ZP rubber.

Another example of the optional, two-toned interiors available.

The owners tribute to Chief Engineer and the recognized godfather of the Corvette: Zora Arkus-Duntov.

The 6.2 liter, 460 horsepower LT1, complete with an extensive list of the Z51 Performance package whistles and bells, including dry sump lubrication.

Holding to the mornings Corvette theme, and parked across the row from the trio of 2014 Corvettes, was an early sibling in the form of a 1963 Corvette Sting Ray Split Window coupe. Dressed in Sebring Silver and sporting an early fuel injected motor.

The trendsetting interior, circa 1963…

and state of the art, Corvette fuel injected motor from 1963 as seen below.

Another of the classic details found on the 1963 Sting Ray; faux, front hood louvers.

The source of inspiration for the 2014 C7 front fender vents?

The unmistakable lines of the 1963 Corvette, Split window coupe.

Continuing the Chevrolet theme for the morning, was this beautiful example of a Tri-5 Bel-Air coupe. And parked in close proximity, was a custom Harley-Davidson motorcycle with styling and design inspiration taken directly from the 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air.

I was surprised to learn that this custom-built Harley Davidson with Bel Air overlay, and parked before me had been built in Europe, by the company Luporacing (based in France). For information about Luporacing, or to view the progress /build photos of this motorcycle (“HD Bel Air”), please refer to the following link (for luporacing.com).

So taking a cue from Chevrolet, and regardless of whether you ride a motorcycle or drive a car, a challenge has been made: “Find New Roads”. I suspect that the owners of the 2014 Corvettes identified above are already way ahead of the rest of us…